July, 1913 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



253 





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A grape dish of pink and white Bohemian glass 



on them, even amid the requirements of an isolated region, brought into use for rough cutting, sand, which had been 



They were not a stupid race, rather a spirited, skilful moistened in water, being thrown on. Next, the sandstone 



and intelligent one, who were able to do wonderful work was applied, to be followed by the wooden wheel, on which 



so good that when first put on the market all the old, estab- fine sand had been thrown, fine emery and lastly putty 



lished firms in France winced. There could be no question- powder. 



ing its worth, it was clear, light and delicate to the touch, The finishing was done on the last wheel, but if he had 



and differing from any other glass that had been shown none at hand he could obtain a good finish by the use of a 



and withal it was perfectly colorless. 



In coloring a stain was used by be- 

 ing applied to the surface by means 

 of a brush, and securely fixed through 

 subjection to heat. The chief beauty 

 of this ware lay in its rich coloring, 

 which ran from red to pink and from 

 green through blue, amber to white. 

 Of these the most popular and eag- 

 erly sought after is the ruby red, so 

 beautiful that it seems almost as if 

 it could not be real. 



Their method of manufacture dif- 

 fered from that which was used in 

 many other countries. In order to 

 finish the w T ork faster, they trimmed 

 the rims with a pair of glass maker's 

 shears, the same as it was done not 

 only in England, but in Belgium and 

 France. Through long practice the 

 workmen became experts, cutting the 

 rim with a precision that was won- 

 derful, instead of the usual way of 

 opening them with a glass blower, 

 which gave a neater and better ap- 

 pearance to the ware, when finished. 

 The engraving was accomplished 

 through the holding of each piece 

 against the point of the spindle, and 

 in this way intricate designs were exe- 

 cuted. They were, however, made 

 by the use of the cutting wheel, the 

 sharp lines of the stain on the surface 

 producing the decoration in relief. 



For this four vertical wheels were 

 brought into use, each moved by the 

 foot. The first was constructed of 

 iron, the second one of sandstone, the 

 third was made of wood, while the 

 fourth was cork. The iron wheel was 



Decanter of red Bohemian glass 



wooden one over which had been 

 thrown dry tin putty and a piece of 

 woolen cloth. It is only when one 

 considers the amount of work that 

 had to be done to complete a piece of 

 this sort that they realize the price is 

 not expensive. 



There were many forms that were 

 designed for this ware and among 

 them were decanters, pitchers, drink- 

 ing cups, and an occasional odd bit 

 like a salt cellar, card case or dish. 

 The variety of formation led to their 

 being no monotony in their grouping. 



While few large collections are 

 found, yet one of sufficient import- 

 ance to be noted is along the 

 north shore of Massachusetts, owned 

 by Mr. J. W. Mitchell, of Man- 

 chester. This particular collection 

 has been carefully grouped by the 

 owner, who has spared no pain in his 

 purchase of rare and odd pieces. 

 The collection is not a large one, 

 there being not over forty pieces in 

 all, but each individual one has been 

 so carefully picked out that, as a 

 whole, it is wonderfully good. Here 

 the colors range from red to white, 

 from pink to amber, the prevailing 

 coloring being red. 



Almost every New England house- 

 keeper, who has inherited antiques, 

 has in her collection one or more 

 pieces of this kind of glass. Rarely, 

 do we find it in any large quantity, 

 showing that either it was not extens- 

 ively purchased or had been broken. 



Many handsome pieces are to be 

 found in the Atkinson collection in 



